Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure are continuing “unabated,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, despite Donald Trump claiming that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to an immediate ceasefire on energy strikes. Zelenskyy said a Russian Shahed drone had struck a power plant in Kyiv, causing power outages across several districts, while further strikes targeted energy facilities in the northeastern Kharkiv region. He made the remarks on Sunday evening following a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "Of course, I briefed the President on the brutal Russian strikes that continue unabated,” he wrote on Facebook. “All of this happened after the President of the United States made his statement about an energy ceasefire,” Zelenskyy added. ‘Do not break it!’ Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, declaring that the ceasefire was “effective immediately.” “Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, without providing further details. There has been no confirmation of the agreement from Moscow, while Zelenskyy said Kyiv supported an energy ceasefire. The Ukrainian president has long maintained that Kyiv is willing to suspend strikes on Russian energy facilities if Moscow reciprocates by halting attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure. Trump had previously announced an energy ceasefire in mid-September, although neither Kyiv nor Moscow confirmed that such an agreement had been reached. US pressure on Kyiv Trump’s Sunday announcement followed mounting US pressure on Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian oil refineries, which the American president has blamed for rising diesel prices ahead of next month's US midterm elections. On Saturday, Trump warned Zelenskyy that he had “better damn well stop” targeting Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace their president through elections. Trump also announced on Friday that he had reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow Moscow to export millions of tons of diesel, with Washington temporarily easing sanctions on Russian fuel through April 2027. Zelenskyy criticized the decision as a “gift” to Putin and a sign of weakness from the US administration, warning that allowing Russia to sell petroleum products would help finance its war against Ukraine. The decision also drew bipartisan criticism in Washington, with four Republican and three Democratic senators urging Trump on Sunday to reverse course, arguing that the agreement violated a 2022 US law banning Russian energy imports. “The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians,” the senators said in a joint statement, adding that the administration had failed to consult Congress or explain its decision, as required by law.
